Did I do it or not?

First off, I've rediscovered something. Change is freaking HARD!!! Not just a little bit, but bone-jarring, emotionally draining, H-A-R-D!!!! I've discovered that sleep and tears are almost a requirement when making drastic life changes. But I'm pressing through and starting again.

My new motto:"Life begins at the end of your comfort zone."
-Neale Donald Walsch, Conversations with God, Book 3

What weekly goals did I meet?
all bills are caught up
I lost 2 pounds, exercised four days
the kids have clean rooms
meditated 4 days

So this is a new week. Since I didn't meet all of my goals last week I will be starting over this week. I have to step up and do more to meet the financial needs this week.
I will also be posting things I learn during the week.

And We're Off! ( Dec-Jan goals)

Monthly goals: December 21-January 21

Home: clean/organized home
Spiritual: meditate and Dance of the Dissident Daughter everyday
Financial: pay off one credit card and put $100 in savings
Health: lose 15lbs., eliminate Coke, Mountain Dew and other sodas
            ---eat 90% of meals at home (currant wt. 178 lbs)
Marriage/Children: start The Love Dare, chore list for kids
Career: meet daily monetary goal, revise/rewrite work in progress(novel--release it on January 21)

This week:
Home: declutter, catch up on laundry
Spiritual: meditate everyday and read 1 chapter of Dance of the Dissident Daughter(10-20 min)
Financial: pay everything on time
Health: exercise 15-20 min everyday, portion control, drink more water
Marriage/Children: practice the Love Dare-kids clean their rooms
Career: write everyday, keep up blogs, apply for more writing jobs

Rules, Rules, and more Rules

With every good experiment there must be rules. For someone like me who likes to talk a good talk, I must give myself guidlines to follow in order to accomlish my new life. Here are the basic rules:

-Create a 1 year goal for these elements of my life: spiritual, financial, health, marriage, children, career, home
-Create 1 month and 1 week goals that put me on the path to achieving my annual goals
-Create a basic routine necessary to meet goals
-Create a to-do/schedule daily
-Check off the items accomplished every night and adjust the next days activities accordingly

Annual goals: Deadline December 21, 2010

Home: new house

Spiritual: a sense of peace and spiritual understanding

Financial: debt free except for one car and home

Health: lose 50 lbs. eat only foods that are good for me

Marriage: renewed relationship with my husband

Children: better relationship with kids, they are more responsible and treat each other better

Career:  having released 6 books, earning $4000 per month

After the constant running in circles for the last 10+ years, I'm ready to move forward with my life. My kids deserve a better mom, my husband deserves a wife that can get things done. I deserve to life my best life now. No more "I'll do it tomorrow". Today's the day.

There's Always a Beginning

Did you wake up one morning and realize that your life was nothing like you had imagined it would be? Or perhaps you're looking in the mirror wondering who is that person staring back at you. Do you sometimes sit and daydream about what you really want your life to be like?

Welcome to my reality. I woke up to being 50 lbs. overweight, eating nothing but junk food, yelling at my poor children and drifting further and further from my husband. Let's not forget the lackluster career drive from being a stay-at-home mom for almost eleven years. Did staying at home mean my house was clean? No way! It just meant that at least half the dishes were clean and there were clean clothes in a laundry basket somewhere in the house.
Then came my big jump into freelance writing. I have been writing for years, however, I never gave nonfiction writing a try because it seemed to hard for me. After jumping in head first over the last few months, I know that I can make a career out of this. Then reality kicked in. Can I have a career and take care of my family at the same time? By the looks of my house and my empty cabinets, my husband would loudly shout "NO!", but I have other plans.
I have been floundering for quite a few years to find just where the old me has gone. I'm still young, in my 30's. Yes, I have four kids, but that doesn't mean that life should be put on hold until they are grown. I want us to have great experiences together, to visit all over the U.S., to travel to Europe together, play games together, create memories. Is that too much to ask? I want a happy marriage and to enjoy my kids. Is that too much to ask? Nope.
Here's the catch; all of these things take work. Real, honest to goodness work. Am I up to the task? I have tried and failed so many times that I often question how bad I want something. Then I saw the 'success' video that you see to the right. My new motto is "How bad do I want to breathe?"
So the next year is about changing. Making big changes. Most people go through life wanting things to be different, whining about it, but doing nothing to really change it. So this is where my experiment comes into play. I'm going to kick off the whole process with some life changing habits over the next 6 weeks. They say that it only takes 28 days to make a habit. I'm giving myself a little buffer by making it 6 weeks. After that, I'll be making more and more changes at a slower rate over the following 323 days. On December 21, 2010, the question will be answered: Can a woman create the life she desires out of sheer will?